6 Thoughts College Students Have When Rent Is Due

In addition to the usual struggles college students face daily — classes, homework, studying, jobs, extracurriculars, social life, etc. — those who pay rent for their apartment have something extra to worry about each month.

Unfortunately, and inevitably, paying rent comes with the reality of moving further into adulthood. Unlike some of the other responsibilities we college students have to shoulder, paying up every month is not as negotiable as pleading with a professor for an extension on that paper or having the leeway to skip a quiz in a certain class every once in a while.

Nope — surely every month, the day looms frighteningly, inevitably closer until you have no choice but to pay. On that day when rent is due, you may have some thoughts racing through your mind that you just can’t quell.

Although you were told right from the beginning on what day rent would be due, along with all the other important information about your apartment, it somehow slips your mind every single month … right up until the dreaded due date.

You simply can’t believe how quickly the days are flying by on the calendar. Really, it seems that you had just finished paying off your bill for last month, and now here comes the next one.

2. “I. Am. So. Broke.”

Your wallet and bank account are particularly sensitive to financial pain around this time. All that money you spent on food, clothes, school-related stuff, and your social life within the past month seemed so necessary at the time. And now you wish you could take it all back if only to have the money magically appear right back in your bank account.

Actually, no, you don’t wish you could take it all back. You just wish more money would magically appear.

3. “I wonder if there’s a grace period …”

Depending on how long you’ve been living in that apartment and struggling with the reality of paying up every month, you should know how things generally go down between you and the landlord. If you know that he or she is particularly strict with paying rent, you may just be deluding yourself temporarily until it’s time to face the facts.

And even if your landlord is exceptionally generous and does give you a grace period of several days, you still know that you have to pay eventually. *Sigh*

4. “Why did I ever want to grow up when I was a kid?”

We’ve all hitched a ride on the nostalgia wagon before. You can’t help but think back to the old days when life was simpler and so much more peaceful, without the constant anxiety surrounding college and your new found adult responsibilities. Honestly, your biggest problem back then was fighting over a toy with your younger sibling or not wanting to go to bed before 9 p.m.

In this moment, all you want to do is whisk yourself back to your childhood, be a carefree kid again, and let your parents pay all the bills.

5. “I’m backed into a corner on this one. There’s no getting out of it.”

The realization that rent is due may leave you feeling shocked, paralyzed, and in denial for a little bit. But, no doubt about it, you feel the grim weight of reality settling in your stomach, and you finally have no choice but to face the truth.

“I took up this responsibility myself and now I have to own up to it,” you think. “It’s time for me to be like all the other adults in the world: painfully meeting my responsibilities each month just to get by.”

Or, you might have a more optimistic take.

6. “Yeah, no one likes paying rent, but does it really have to be such a bad thing?”

By virtue of living in and paying for your own apartment, you’re already ahead of the game compared to a lot of other college students. Yes, paying rent can feel like an extra burden at times, but look at it this way: it’s yet another example of how you’re making your mark on the world as an emerging, responsible adult.

Of course, you’re not always going to have everything in your life together, but if you can manage to at least pay your rent on time every month, well, that’s a point for you.